State of Macbooks (rant)

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple.

Oh this will be good

13in is way to small of a screen

Well that's a first. 11 inches was regarded as small but 13?! Every switcher from PC has absolutely loved the 13 inch screen.

Well good thing they offer a 14 inch with the Macbook Pro

16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced.

Good thing the 16 inch goes on sale for $500 off a lot, and again, there's the 14 inch option which is also going for $500 off lately.

I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome.

Firstly stop using Chrome, Firefox and Orion are vastly better and don't eat up nearly as much resources as Chrome.

Secondly, it's not the chip architecture to why you can't have so many tabs open, it's all dependent on how much RAM you got, and since you got a 2016 model my guess is you got jack for memory.

The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome.

Because you're using a really bad Macbook Pro using an Intel processor that was never meant to be in a laptop that thin. The Apple Silicon Macs get 16-21 hours of battery life while using web browsers.

I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen.

Well good thing the M2 13 inch Macbook Pro has the infamous touchbar that you like. Also you can get the functionality of the touchbar on non-touchbar Macs using Sidecar on an iPad.

As for touch screens, never gonna happen. Touchscreens on laptops are terrible and an expensive gimmick as it's uncomfortable constantly reaching up to the screen. The best way to deliver multitouch on a notebook or desktop is through the trackpad. Not to mention macOS is made for a mouse, not touch.

To demonstrate this, Linus Tech Tips' Apple channel Mac Address made a Touchscreen Macbook by taping an Espresso Screen to it, showing the limitations of a touchscreen and why the Mac is better without one.

I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

13 inch Macbook Pros and M2 Macbook Airs go on sale for $999. You can also find the M1 Macbook Air for $800 brand new at Amazon or in the Apple Refurbished Store.

So...what's the point of this thread?

No, I think the other macs such as the macbook air, should be priced at $400. Its basically no better than a crappy chromebook.

If you want a Mac at $400, the M1 Mac Mini can be found at that price if you don't mind a desktop.

I giess I could sell my MB Pro for 500-$600 and upgrade to this:

Best Buy: MacBook Pro 14" Laptop Apple M1 Pro chip 16GB Memory 512GB SSD Space Gray MKGP3LL/A

Shop MacBook Pro 14" Laptop Apple M1 Pro chip 16GB Memory 512GB SSD Space Gray at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.

www.bestbuy.com

thats a decent deal and it has mag safe, these usb -c outlets in regarding to charging are a disgrace to the human race.

There you go. Sounds like you got a plan

 

[MayaUser]

I don’t know, it kind of sounds like OP is mostly complaining about Chrome But I too think that a 15” MacBook Air with base chip would be a good addition to the lineup. It could have an added benefit of alleviating the supply pressure on the more expensive prosumer chips, improving availability. Apple would sell fewer 14” and 16” models of course, but I doubt they are more profitable than an Air. Those displays and memory interfaces cost a fortune to make.

Agree, i hope when and IF that 15" MBA comes out, the current M2 Mba to take its usual place of $999 , the M1 be removed from the lineup and the 15" Mba to take the current M2 Mba starting price point of 1199

 

[leman]

Agree, i hope when and IF that 15" MBA comes out, the current M2 Mba to take its usual place of $999 , the M1 be removed from the lineup and the 15" Mba to take the current M2 Mba starting price point of 1199

Ah well that’s just wishful thinking. There is no way in hell Apple would charge 1199 if Microsoft sells a far inferior 15” laptop for hundred more. I think 1399 or 1499 is a more realistic price point.

 

[Danfango]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple. 13in is way to small of a screen, 16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced. I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome. The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome. I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen. I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

If users designed computers

 

[LA_Surfer]

You lost me at 80 tabs of chrome…

I do real estate so I have a lot of tabs open at all times.

 

[Warped9]

80 tabs open on any browser sounds…obsessively out of control.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

I do real estate so I have a lot of tabs open at all times.

bruh my old macbook pro from 2012 could (and still can) handle 100+ tabs if really needed. it’s 2022 now and (unsurprisingly) it still works perfectly fine. yes the battery is worn out but the laptop is standing the test of time and it isn’t stopping any time soon!

now the cheapest m1 macbook air that you claimed is the same as a 400 dollar chromebook can most certainly comfortably handle even 500+ tabs if you really wanted. probably even more. sure it will write a whole lot to swap to keep everything running smoothly but it will do it with no issues at all.

this is either a troll post or your mac has some sort of malware or virus. i’m guessing its the former

 

[ratspg]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple. 13in is way to small of a screen, 16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced. I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome. The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome. I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen. I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

Apple sucks for you. Consider other brands and options.

 

[Bobbuilds69]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple. 13in is way to small of a screen, 16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced. I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome. The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome. I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen. I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

So from $2499 to $999… that might seem reasonable to you but i think you might be the one who needs to be reasonable because that’s a $1500 difference! You might as well as them to pay you for getting one 😂

 

[Jamie0003]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple. 13in is way to small of a screen, 16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced. I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome. The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome. I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen. I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

Maybe don’t use chrome? And what about the 14” pro?

 

[Jamie0003]

Mac's have never been a value leader in terms of upfront costs. They are a value leader if you keep them long enough. This is where Apple products have proven their worth. People generally keep their Mac's longer than Windows laptop because of several reasons.

The fact that Apple won't sell crappy hardware is one reason they last longer and People use them longer. They have to charge more because they have less turn around on their user base.

To me, that is actually a better way to make a product. It makes the user experience better during the lifetime of the product.

I understand that you would like a larger screen at a budget price and I would love to see a 15.6" Air and rumors suggest maybe next year they will.

However if cost is a concern then the M1 MacBook selling new offer the most value Apple has ever delivered in a laptop. The M1 Air can be had for $799 and I am sure during the holidays will go even lower. M1 MBP is also discounted as is the M1 MBP 14". None of them are "cheap" but compared to an equal value Windows laptop they are often times a better value and you should get many years of support and performance.

If you keep your Mac long term as the above poster said your cost of ownership with trade in or resale makes them very affordable.

The trick is to buy every 3 years minimum and more like 5 years and your cost of ownership is pretty low. The problem is that many people with 2 or 3 year old Mac's have Intel processor's and they aren't aging well compared to Apple silicon. Once you make the jump to Apple silicon you should be good for many years.

The problem I have though is the repairability. My 2015 retina MacBook has been a great little machine but I had to get rid of it due to the battery dying. Almost impossible to do this myself and apple will charge an arm and a leg, that’s if they would repair it which they won’t because it’s vintage

 

[Technerd108]

The problem I have though is the repairability. My 2015 retina MacBook has been a great little machine but I had to get rid of it due to the battery dying. Almost impossible to do this myself and apple will charge an arm and a leg, that’s if they would repair it which they won’t because it’s vintage

You would have the same problem with any manufacturer. Do you think HP or Lenovo is going to have parts readily available for a 7 year old device?

Most laptops regardless of manufacturer are soldering ram and ssd to the motherboard. Batteries are not easily replaced either depending on the design.

So it is really just a trend in manufacturing because it reduces the OEM’s upfront manufacturing cost to solder everything and everyone wants thin and light at the expense of repairability.

I agree Apple is probably worse in this regard than other manufacturers and the new unified architecture means if one component of the SOC goes bad you have to replace the entire thing so you basically have to have AppleCare for the life of these new M series MacBooks or save up for a potentially expensive repair/replacement.

If you really want repairable devices then you need to build your own Windows desktop with a socketed ram, gpu, cpu, and ssd so if any component fails you can replace it. Even then after 7 years compatibility with your motherboard will be an issue.

So ultimately if you buy a modern computer you have to think about the inevitable replacement and keeping a device longer than 5-7 years becomes a losing battle and can cost more in repairs than just replacing it.

However just because something is obsolete or vintage doesn’t mean that you will have problems. An iMac for example with M1 may work without any failure for more than 7 years and possibly the same for a MacBook. I think that a M1 MBA has basically no moving parts so it could last a long time.

Comparing that to a Windows laptop you might get a longer life possibly in terms of software support.

Getting to the Chromebook comparison this is one area where support is better. A Chromebook may get like 9 years of official support from Google on new higher end devices which seems longer than anyone else.

Personally I factor on 3-5 years max. Maybe even 2 years depending on the device. You also have to factor in resale value. It might make more sense to buy a lower end Mac like a mid range MBA every couple of years. Then the resale value stays high and you may spend $500 or so to get a new computer every 2 years or $250 a year. That is like $22 a month and you will always have the latest or close to the latest device. Only Macs have as high a resale value to be able to do this. The more expensive your Mac is the more it will lose in resale value so there is a diminishing return the more you spend.

 

[SpotOnT]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple. 13in is way to small of a screen, 16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced. I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome. The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome. I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen. I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

What you want my friend is a 15” MacBook Air. That is essentially what those old touchbar MacBook Pros should have been called, since there was nothing “Pro” about them. The current MBP are not overpriced necessarily, they just have a lot more power capacity than most people need.

Well Apple has been expanding their product lines, and there have been rumors of a 15” MacBook Air…so we will see I guess.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

If users designed computers

Inaccurate. Where's the RGB? Where's the water cooling? Where's the RTX 3080? Where's the cable management?

You're making PC Jesus disappointed

 

[LA_Surfer]

Maybe don’t use chrome? And what about the 14” pro?

Safari uses about the same resources, even with one tab open

 

[jchap]

The more expensive your Mac is the more it will lose in resale value so there is a diminishing return the more you spend.

A lot of good points in your post. This should be permanent information on this forum for people that are shopping for Macs.

I think I understand what you mean about the more expensive Macs losing more in resale value. I’m not sure why that’s the case, though. You’d think that the machines that have more hard disk storage and RAM would be valued accordingly. I purchased a MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019 with a 1 TB SSD and 64 GB of RAM this year for JPY200,000 from a used electronics goods store here in Japan, but I imagine that the original seller only got JPY100,000 for their sale, which is less than a quarter of what the machine sold for new.

Indeed, it seems to be economically wiser these days to do as you said, purchasing only what you really need (a lower-spec unit) and then upgrading on a 3–5-year span. Not as eco-friendly, though.

 

[scottrichardson]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple. 13in is way to small of a screen, 16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced. I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome. The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome. I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen. I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

Why on earth are you using Chrome over Safari in the first place? Safari is faster, and vastly more power efficient.

 

[Nicole1980]

Honestly, I think this whole thread was the OP trying to drop a few turds in the pool and wait til everyone started screaming and freaking out. He figured since this is MacRumors that he would enjoy reading as all the 'mac nerds' went all nuts over his comments. Interesting thing happened on the way to his fun little 'game' though: It didn't happen.

Instead what he got was a lot of calm, reasoned, polite counter-arguments.

Sorry @LA_Surfer ... you got punked while trying to punk others.

 

[boswald]

You have 80 tabs open?! I struggle to come up with 10 anymore.

 

[Cole82]

I really don't care for the current macbook pro offerings from Apple. 13in is way to small of a screen, 16in is better but its waaaayyyy overpriced. I like my current 15in 2016 with the task bar, but the chip architecture can't support a browser with 80 tabs open on chrome. The battery last about 2 hours or less using chrome. I wish the 16in had a taskbar or at least a touchscreen. I think a more reasonable price for it would be $999. Apple is always disappointing but what other choice do we have?? They need to lower prices or step up their game.

Am I the only one that wants to know why you have 80 open tabs in Chrome?!?! My ADHD just went nuts thinking about it. I’d have a panic attack every day.

 

[v0lume4]

I think multiple people here are hoping for a 15” Air. It’s rumored to be in the works. Let’s hope those rumors turn out to be true!

 

[profcutter]

Am I the only one that wants to know why you have 80 open tabs in Chrome?!?! My ADHD just went nuts thinking about it. I’d have a panic attack every day.

Eh, that’s actually the least concerning of his posts. My iPad has 200 tabs open, I closed several today. This phone has 285 tabs open. Often when I do research, I leave the tabs open so I can go back to them. Eventually I save the ones I want and dump the others, but lots of tabs open is a pretty standard style of browsing, or maybe I really do just have ADHD. Either way, that’s far from the most ridiculous of the claims here.

 

[pirateninjae]

The price for a 16” MBP Pro is reasonable to me, especially for what it delivers. But then again it is a tool I use to do my work/job and the annual return I get out of it is many magnitudes more than the price paid. It could be a thousand or two more and I’ll still buy it; the price is insignificant compared to what I can get out of it.

If you are buying a MBP to just browse the internet and watch videos, you are buying too much computer for your needs. And that is fine if you are willing to pay. No judgement here. But it is definitely a luxury purchase.

 

[Jamie0003]

Safari uses about the same resources, even with one tab open

I used to have the same amount of tabs in safari on my 2015 12” MacBook. And that had an intel core M, a super low power ultrabook chip. Worked perfectly fine. Maybe you need more memory?

 

[Danfango]

Inaccurate. Where's the RGB? Where's the water cooling? Where's the RTX 3080? Where's the cable management?

You're making PC Jesus disappointed

I love how he's got an oscilloscope in the background but the poor thing is in X-Y mode and burning a hole in the phosphor on the screen.

But it looks impressive... hmmm....